The present invention relates to reinforced pultrusion products and, in particular, to a pultrusion product reinforced with glass fibers, wherein a portion of the glass fibers are buckled so as to provide transverse reinforcement, and a process for production of such a reinforced pultrusion product.
According to conventional pultrusion methodology, where it is required to axially and transversely reinforce thermoplastic or thermoset structures to provide transverse and axial strength, a woven, stitched, or non-woven fabric or mat of glass fibers is added to the thermoplastic or thermoset material. However, with thermoplastic pultrusion, it is preferable that the mat or fabric be pre-impregnated with the thermoplastic material or layered with thermoplastic fibers to get good wetout of the glass. Such pre-impregnation or layering steps represent an expensive and time consuming addition to conventional thermoplastic pultrusion processes.
Accordingly, there is a need for an inexpensive axially and transversely reinforced pultrusion product and a corresponding inexpensive and convenient pultrusion process for producing such a product.